Assistant coach takes his place on the pitch
"Happy Football Day" on 5 May 2004 was a big day for Special Olympics Belgium footballer Marteen Doktor, 18, because it was the first large-scale competition in which he carried out his duties as an assistant coach.
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Pictured left to right: Ann-Marie Doktor, assistant coach Marteen Doktor and coach Nico Hoeven. [Photo by Martha Jo Braycich, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia] |
Dokter had been one of approximately 15 Special Olympics footballers from six countries to participate in the first Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia assistant coach seminar held earlier that year. Following the seminar, participants had several months to train as assistant coaches in preparation for applying their skills at a 2004 Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia Football Week event.
Doktor, whose quiet, steady voice, confident stance and superb knowledge and skill as a player, highlighted the strong sense of responsibility he has gained in his new role. "I feel confident as an assistant coach," he said. "I have good communication with the team and I have a special relationship with my coach, Nico Hoeven, who I admire very much," Doktor said.
During "Happy Football Day," held in Hasselt and involving 30 teams, including 12 Special Olympics Unified Sports™ football teams, Doktor put his regular team and a Unified team through their paces. His sister, Ann-Marie, 14, who played goalie on the Unified team, said with pride, "Marteen has a quality that people will listen to him and follow him." Teammate Geoffry Van Boelen, 13, agreed: "Marteen knows a lot about football and he is very good at teaching us how to pass the ball."
Everyone who knows Doktor says he has changed in the past few months from a rather shy boy to a self-assured young man. He is particularly proud of the certificate he received upon completion of the assistant coach seminar. Hung on a wall near his bed, he said that looking at it every night before he goes to sleep reminds him of how much he has achieved — not only as a footballer but also as a person.
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